Alan Weisman's The World Without Us

Each time I talked to a friend about The World Without Us, as soon as he or she heard the title, they instantly said, “That sounds interesting,” and I, had thought the same. The idea of the world without humans is so radical that it automatically evokes interest in the reader. Since The World Without Us is nonfiction, it reveals the “thesis” of the book; hence why Alan Weisman discusses exactly how the world would end up, without us. The topic lasts throughout the whole book, from beginning to end, but it does develop further as it goes on.

Memorable Quotes

Alan Weisman says, “Eventually, they will change. Change is the hallmark of nature. Nothing remains the same,” discusses the evolution of agriculture (Weisman 160). This is an important quote, because it concludes how buildings, even from millions of years ago, will eventually break

Throughout the beginning, I could not help but feel bored out of my mind. I found it difficult to focus on what Weisman was preaching and I could barely even understand all the terms he used. He included backstories almost as an introduction to all his reasoning, but I thought them to be pointless and time consuming. I would have prefered him to get straight to the point.

Luckily, I eventually caught onto his writing style. As his imaginative reports went on, it became easier to create visuals of how the world would be without us. He breaks down the world we live in rather compellingly. The audience is able to capture the true nature humans are implementing themselves to live in. I interpreted The World Without Us as a wake up call. It made me want to modify my ways of treating the earth. Alan Weisman successfully shows how unnatural and harmful human interaction with the earth is, but still portrays the solution to it all,